Chapter 132: He must not die

“Altan …… is dead?”

Su Yan’s face was shocked as a page of secret oracles written by the imperial pen floated down to the ground from between his fingers.

He stumbled half a step backward, and Jing Hongchou, who was accompanying him, immediately reached out to support him.

“Lord Su?” Chu Yuan, who had received the six-hundred-mile rush delivery and had come to pass on the oracle, called out with concern.

Su Yan lifted his finger to stop the other party, sat down smoothly on the circle chair and muttered, “Don’t talk, I need to clear my head, let me think ……”

He covered his brow with the palm of one hand, his thumb and the remaining four fingers clasping his temples on either side, and did his best to calm himself down, slowly combing through his thoughts –

Al-Than was injured by flying needles and suffered from the strange poison “Border City Snow”.

According to Yan Chengxue’s statement, this poison is incomparably strong, the poisoned person should have died in two quarters of an hour, but Alertan somehow survived for more than two hours, perhaps because of the extraordinarily strong physique.

I went to the tent to visit Altan when he had his last attack of poison. At the moment of danger, the blood from the wound in my palm accidentally stained the tattoo on his abdomen, and then his breath that was about to be cut off was miraculously lifted back …… And I seemed to have been affected by the smell of the holy oil applied on his body at that moment, and I had a very short-lived hallucination, and felt that the divine tree tattoo… . came alive?

Was it because the tattoo pigment contained a secret medicinal ingredient that activated when it met the blood and penetrated deeply into the body, creating a greater degree of restraint against the poison, that Alertan came back from the dead?

Out of the scientific knowledge of modern people, Su Yan speculated on such a possibility.

Even in the modern world of his previous life, he had heard a little about the ancient and mysterious shamanism of the north, which was said to be a combination of sorcery and medicine, as well as being able to communicate with all things in nature.

If that tattoo, was a life preserving item left to Altan by the Witch Doctor Elder of the Wara clan, then its medicinal effects should not be short-lived, or at least hang on to him until he returned to the clan.

Altan’s vitals were stable as he was escorted out of Camp Clearwater, so the problem could be halfway there ……

Was it the square-faced man called Sharidan who betrayed Altan?

No, the guards were loyal to their prince, and when they spoke of the “Golden Prince,” the gleam of adoration in their eyes was unmistakable.

Then the biggest possibility is to be robbed and killed halfway, and the mysterious black-robed man known as the “Black Duo Da Witch” has nothing to do with it.

I clearly warned Sharidan beforehand to be careful about the return route being leaked, advising them to cultivate the road in the open and do it in the dark. According to the return of the generals guarding the city, they did indeed split their troops into two, with most of the Wala Han escorting the prince’s empty carriage one step ahead as a front to attract the dark enemy.

Perhaps the darker ones were also discovered by Hedo, who ultimately failed to escape the hunt, and the unconscious Altan ……

Su Yan’s heart palpitated so much that he unconsciously pressed his chest.

Seeing this, Jing Hongchu put her palm on his back, slowly inputting a soft stream of true qi to run between his lungs and organs, resolving the stasis and smoothing his qi.

Su Yan let out a long breath, his cheeks regaining some blood color, and asked Chu Yuan, “When did the court get the news?”

Chu Yuan replied, “Just seven days ago. The state letter of Hu Kuaoli, the King of Wala Khan, was sent to our dynasty, stating that his eldest son, Prince Kunle, was murdered by Daming officials by extremely despicable means, demanding that the Emperor hand over the culprits and give an account to all of them, or else he would rise up in vengeance to seek justice from our dynasty. This letter of state was strongly worded and caused a furor in the court.”

Seven days ago …… nearly three months have passed since Altan left Lingzhou.

From the time point of view, Al-Than was indeed killed halfway back. When the news of his death reached the headquarters of Wala, Hu Kuaoli sent people to Qingshui Camp in Lingzhou to find out the situation, and then submitted a letter of state to our dynasty, it would take almost three months.

After Altan’s accident, regarding this assassination plot and the suspicion of Yan Chengxue’s and Huo’s involvement in the case, he had already reported to the Son of Heaven for knowledge.

The emperor had also asked him privately: you are in its time and place, when you know the past and the aftermath, think the murderer is not Yan Huo two people?

Su Yan answered after deliberation: Although Yan Huo two people have a motive, but there is no hard evidence of conviction. This case is full of doubts, behind the scenes or a black hand fiddling, the plotters are thought-provoking.

The emperor approved: first house arrest. I have been with the Shaanxi Tidings Press Ambassador to investigate closely, you hand over the case, continue to do your errand.

Therefore, when Su Yan left Lingzhou, not only Yan Chengxue was confined, even Huo was rushed by the press commissioner circled in the camp fortress, not allowed to go out a step.

At that time, he had also gone to the forbidden room to meet Yan Chengxue for a while, and although the other party looked haggard, she was still in good spirits, and had tried to find a way to concoct the antidote as she had promised before.

Instead, it was Huo who couldn’t take it, slamming the lock on the door and screaming loudly all the time that he hadn’t plotted to assassinate Altan, and Old Yan even less so. As long as he was let out, he would dig up the ground and bring back that Hedo Great Witch to clear his name.

However, even if the Qing Shui camp will be closed to the city of Dasuo, but also can not find that black-robed shaman, he is like a piece of smoke symbolizing bad luck and ominous, come and go without a trace.

Su Yan picked up the secret oracle on the ground with his cold fingers and continued to read.

The emperor informed him of the matter of the Valar’s state letter with the purpose of keeping him away from Lingzhou. “This is not a simple assassination case, I am afraid that it is a conspiracy that involves the whole body, even if I put Yan and Huo to justice as murderers, this matter may not be resolved.”

Su Yan’s view coincided with the Emperor’s.

It may seem like a simple enough choice – hand over the two offending officials to be disposed of, and pay a pension, and you can calm the wrath of the Valar and continue to discuss the alliance.

But in reality, doing so would also confirm that Altan had indeed been killed by the Ming people for very unjust reasons, which would seriously damage the reputation of the Great Ming and sow great mischief for the future situation in the North.

“Only by catching the culprits behind the scenes and uncovering the conspiracy can this case be truly closed. If you can’t do it, our dynasty may face the situation of being enemies with Tartar and Walar at the same time. At that time, the northern defense must be tight, the war will start, Qinghe …… is only in the Pingliang area to supervise the horse government can be, can not be lightly under the city. Do not disobey my order.”

Su Yan’s fingertips on the last sentence “do not disobey my orders” crossed, the bottom of his heart welled up thick warmth and touched.

Emperor Jinglong day-to-day management, but also distracted to miss him, specially sent a letter to urge him not to approach the Great Wall border passes, lest he be affected by the fire of war. This kind of love, far more than ordinary courtiers, how can he not call him adoration entangled?

Su Yan collected the secret decree and said to Chu Yuan, “I know what the emperor means. How are the arrangements on the Lingzhou side?”

“The court has sent another general to take charge of leading the troops.”

Su Yan nodded and added, “Trouble Commander Chu to do something for me. Bring my handwritten letter to Lingzhou and hand it over to Mr. Press Attorney, and escort Yan Chengxue and Huo to Pingliang Prefecture. On one hand, I have something to interrogate them; on the other hand, Huo has operated in the Qing Shui camp for many years and has won the hearts of the people, so if he doesn’t leave, the new guards will inevitably be constrained by this.”

Chu Yuan thought for a moment and said, “It is still Lord Su who is considerate, I will go and do it.”

After Chu Yuan took his leave, Jing Hong chased after him and frowned: “Your honor’s party’s blood did not return to the meridian, it was a case of qi reversal caused by excessive emotions and feelings–“

Su Yan interrupted, patted his hand back: “Hearing the bad news, a moment of emotional excitement, now no harm. I and Altan after all know each other a, although get along with time is very short, but talk to each other, is also considered a friend. He is gone, I can’t help but sigh.”

Jing Hong chased after Su Yan to see his emotions gradually calming down, sighed in relief, and said, “The heavens have unpredictable winds and clouds. Since the person has passed away, it is useless for the living to grieve in vain, so adults should look on the bright side.”

Su Yan’s tone was flat: “I know. I’m tired tonight and don’t want to condition my body, so you go and rest.”

Jing red chase always feel a little wrong, dawdle by dawdle do not want to leave, a moment to give him a copper basin hand towel, a moment for him to remove the crown and boots.

Su Yan said helplessly, “What else does Chase want to say? I’ve already listened to advice.”

Jing Hong chased after him and shook his head. Having seen life and death, he couldn’t say anything to persuade him.

“So why don’t you leave? I’m not missing anything here.” Su Yan sat on the edge of the bed in his bedclothes, the word “drive away” written plainly on his face.

Jing Hong chased his hand into the cold comforter and touched it, “No, the lord is still missing a bed warmer.”

Su Yan gasped and laughed: “You want to warm my bed? Do you still want to wait on a bed?”

Jing Hong chased the honest nod.

Su Yan hit him with a soft pillow, “Get lost! Look at you with a wooden face, who knows that all day long your brain is running a train, dirty dirty dirty loud.”

Jing Hong chased after the pillow easily caught, up to put back on the bed, looking down at Su Yan stepped in front of the draw bed on the wooden pedals of the bare feet, resisted the urge to ambush and kiss, reached out to fetch and rubbed a few times the bottom of the foot acupuncture points, and then tucked into the quilt.

“Cold is born from the soles of the feet, your lordship should love your body more. My subordinate will leave.”

Su Yan stared at the back of his departure, muttered: “More and more unruly. He is still trying to climb on my head–” Suddenly, it occurred to him that A Zhui did climb on his head, and the psychological shadow of the evil animal’s dislike of his face still remains, so it seems that this scolding doesn’t have a lot of strength.

So he shut up resentfully and fell back to sleep.

The oil lamp on the desktop was not extinguished, casting shadowed patterns on the top of the tent. Su Yan lay on the thick and soft mattress, tossing and turning, it was difficult to sleep.

Obviously his eyes were closed, but it was as if he still had sight, and his eyes were filled with images that shifted like a walking light:

Thin braids of hair strung with gold beads and green jade.

Gold nipple rings on the pecs.

Tree tattoo at the waist and belly.

Low back slide string-like endings.

The olivine colored pupils rippled with a smile like the autumn sun.

A distant and yearning look as he squinted in the direction of the capital.

Creamy tumbling pot of tea.

Pale green hairbands wrapped around dark-colored arms, jade leaf blades sounding ……

In between the blurred sleep and wakefulness of his mind, it was as if he were riding a wild horse like a flooded beast, his body bouncing up and down with the horse’s back. It made no difference that he was riding the horse, or being ridden by the horse, equally dominated in body and mind by the most primitive and moving of rhythms.

That horse winked and transformed into a stout heavenly god, he landed on the broad and majestic chest of the heavenly god, like landing on a smooth and undulating hillside. In order not to continue to fall, he had to wave his arms and legs to hook climbing, and finally clutched a circle of gold rings ……

–Suyan opened his eyes with a start, sat up, and after a few moments of stunned silence, got out of bed and walked to the closet.

Opening the door of the cabinet, there was a wooden chest inside, containing everyday sundries. From it he pulled out a cowhide water pouch with a neck inlaid with gold filigree and turquoise, and a pair of mediocre thick suede sheepskin bindings.

Pulling out the cork of the water sac and sniffing lightly, he could vaguely smell the sweet aroma of milk wine. He ghostly stuck out his tongue and licked the mouth of the sac.

The sweetness disappeared as soon as it startled the tongue. Only a slight sourness, a slight numbness, with an increasingly heavy bitterness remains ……

Su Yan pinched the empty water bag and the pair of flexible leather leggings in his hands, his eyes suddenly surged with moist heat, and he sent out a silent knock to the void: Altan, are you really dead?

–

Five days later, Su Yan met Huo and Yan Chengxue, who had come from Lingzhou on horseback under the escort of the brocade guards.

Huo rolled out of the saddle and dismounted from his horse, and before he could stand still, he heard Su Yan Ðåñê asked, “Senator Huo, after the deal with Altan was finalized, the soldiers that our side sent to escort the tea and the salt, can they all come back now?”

Huo froze for a moment before reacting to the fact that Su Yan had reached an agreement with Altan at the time, whereby the Daming side would prepare the cargo horses and send a special escort to be responsible for sending the traded tea and salt to Walar. What was sent was precisely a cavalry squad under his own command.

“Only two have returned.” Huo looks bleak and replies in a deep voice, “They escorted the goods and traveled slowly, and by the time they reached the territory of the Wala tribe, the news of Altan’s death had just reached the ears of the Khan King Hu Guali. Under the grief of Hu Kuo Li, he was angry with them, they did not want to be captured, so they fled back in the face of the arrows, all the way back to the Qing Shui camp, there are only two people left out of the fifty people.”

Su Yan asked again, “Have you checked and asked these two survivors about the situation of the Valar tribe at that time?”

Huo replied, “I specifically asked after learning about this. The surviving squad leader spoke face-to-face with Tiger Crowley. He told me that Vala failed to retrieve the remains of their great prince. I heard that after he died of poison in Ming, even his corpse corroded into mud, and in Tiger Crowley’s hands, there was only a strand of his son’s hair braid that had turned white.”

The bottom of Su Yan’s eyes lit up at first, seeming to have discovered an important clue, “‘Heard’? Who did the Valar listen to?”

“That captain said it was a tall, thin, black-robed man who stood beside Tiger Crowley and could not be seen. But he spoke a little of the barbarian language, and was heard to be called ‘the Great Wizard’ by the Wara.”

“Hedo the Great Witch!”

Huo nodded, “I heard that captain’s testimony at the time and also suspected it was him. Moreover, it seems that Hedo has a high status and is very vocal in the Wara tribe, and Tiger Crowley trusts him so much that he confirmed Altan’s death without even seeing the body.”

“What about that group of squires from Altan, have they returned to the tribe?”

“I’ve asked too, that captain doesn’t know, no one’s mentioned it. And he doesn’t know Alertan’s group of retainers, and wouldn’t recognize them even if he saw them.”

“Alertan’s batch of retainers, I’m afraid that they were all wiped out halfway, otherwise even if one of them came back, it wouldn’t be the current situation.” Su Yan said quietly, “Live and let live, die and let die, as long as we don’t see a corpse, we can’t pretend that Alertan is dead. This is our only chance to break the situation.”

Huo was a bit puzzled, “What does Royal Secretary Su mean ……”

Su Yan then turned to ask Yan Chengxue, “Yan Temple Secretary, has the antidote been produced?”

Yan Chengxue was freezing her face green and lips white because of the cold weather and rushing, but she still had the same arrogant look of being in love, “No. There are still several herbs missing, you promised to send someone to the southern border to look for them, haven’t you found them yet?”

Su Yan frowned: “One north and one south, the distance is too far, and those herbs are rare, so they can’t be brought back in a short period of time.”

Yan Chengxue skimmed his lips, “Then continue to wait, although waiting is also in vain. Imperial Secretary Su, what kind of dream are you having, that barbarian was hit by the ‘Border City Snow’, it has been three months now, there is absolutely no possibility of survival.”

Su Yan coldly said, “If Altan really dies, you and Huo will have to die, whether you are the real culprits or not!”

Huo looked anxious, and before he could open his mouth, Yan Chengxue glared fiercely at him and closed his mouth numbly. Yan Chengxue smiled coldly towards Su Yan: “If you want to use the two of us as scapegoats to quell the wrath of the King of Warat Khan, be my guest.”

Su Yan looked at him mockingly, ”You think your two scapegoats have this kind of weight? You have overestimated yourself. To tell you the truth, Hu Kuaoli has already sent a hostile letter of state to the imperial court, in case the fire of war burns out, I, Daming, will have to face both Tartary and Walar, what do you think the chances of winning are?”

Yan Chengxue’s face turned even whiter, but still hardened his mouth, “The war with the Northern Barbarians, sooner or later, may not have less chance of winning if we start fighting now.”

“When the time comes, I will first chop off your and Huo’s heads and bring them to sacrifice the flag!” Su Yan pointed at his nose and scolded, “Because of your bigoted narrow-mindedness and your own selfish thoughts, you may drag the entire country into the plague of war, when countless warriors bleed and die, and countless people are displaced …… Yan Chengxue, you can’t be redeemed by ten thousand deaths!”

Yan Chengxue’s voice was sharp, and the anger in her eyes burned furiously: “If Altan was really killed by me, and it was me who caused the country to be destroyed by war, I would recognize the death of a thousand cuts. Not to mention that you want to cut me down and sacrifice me to the flag, I myself can jump into the cauldron of boiling oil without saying a word! But I am not a murderer! No!”

Su Yan now confirmed, Huo Yan two people indeed with this case, and between the black Duo have no relationship, they are purely by the black Duo use to provoke the war between the two countries of the tool. This tool is not the two of them, there will be other Ming people.

This journey of Alertan’s adventures has been the bearer of a vast conspiracy from the beginning.

“Those who stand in the way of God’s will will be burned to ashes by the wrath of God ……”

If the divine decree that Hedo recognized was to start a war between the two countries, then King Hu Kuaoli, who had tried to befriend Daming and wanted to make an alliance, and Prince Altan, who had almost married Daming’s royal family, became “people who blocked the divine decree”.

He used Yan Chengxue’s and Huo’s malicious intent to kill Altan and frame Ming Guo for the crime, and was discovered by Jing Hongchou. Jing Hongchou, who wanted to save Altan, was also “the one who blocked God’s decree”, so he was driven to the point that he became obsessed with fire, and if not for Ah Zhui’s strong martial arts skills, he would have died on the spot.

Who else is next in the way? The Da Ming border guards? Emperor Jinglong, who tries to keep the northern border stable? Or Su Yan and Su Qinghe, who always want to reveal the truth?

Probably the only variable in this conspiracy that Kurodo didn’t anticipate was the failure to find Altan’s body.

However, he provoked the wrath and vengeance of Hu Kua Li, the King of Wala Khan, by virtue of his secret setup and his own influence, as usual.

If he still wants to add fuel to the fire, how will the hatred on the part of the Mings side be provoked ……

Su Yan suddenly remembered the wolf’s head tattoo that could be wiped away on the Tartar cavalrymen who had burned and pillaged their way through Daming’s territory.

Those cavalrymen he encountered may not really be Tatars, under the banner of Woodhallang, the son of the Tatar taiji, but in fact are …… Waratars? It is another bureau arranged by Heiduo?

Imagine what Emperor Jinglong would think once this group of imposters, who were intentionally mixed in with the Tartars, were captured by the Da Ming army and their true identities were exposed.

–It turned out that the alliance of Wala was a scam from beginning to end. They took the favors promised by Daming while robbing Daming’s land and people.

The Emperor will descend in thunderous fury, and this war of vengeance will burn hotter and hotter, unless one side is completely slaughtered, or both sides are defeated and there is no more stopping.

This Black Duo Great Witch …… Su Yan gritted his teeth and thought, What is he trying to do? Mo is not an anti-human madman!

What was the role of Tartary in this? Was Hedo the instigator? An accessory? Or just another tool to be used?

Su Yan felt his chest tighten up and wanted to vomit, staggering back two steps. Jing Hong chased him and wrapped his back around his chest, inputting a steady stream of true qi while worryingly calling out in a low voice, “My lord, tranquilize your mind and calm your qi.”

“He must live ……” Su Yan tried desperately to calm his agitated mind, murmuring softly in Jing Hongchou’s arms, “Altan, he must not die!”